TL;DR
- Ripple has filed Form C to appeal a portion of the 2023 court ruling.
- The SEC is not challenging whether XRP is considered a security in itself.
- Ripple remains confident of its growth, despite the ongoing appeal process.
Ripple has taken a new step in its legal fight with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by filing Form C, detailing the arguments it plans to raise in its appeal.
The blockchain firm is seeking to overturn part of a 2023 ruling in which the court found that institutional sales of XRP constituted unregistered securities offerings.
Today, Ripple filed a Form C – listing the issues we plan to raise on our cross appeal. A few things to keep in mind as we move forward:
The case is not about whether XRP, in and of itself, is a security. XRP is uniquely situated as having clarity (alongside BTC) in not being… https://t.co/AmFocAnbPx
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) October 25, 2024
However, the SEC is not questioning the fact that XRP, when sold to retailers, is not considered a security, which has given clarity to this digital asset compared to other cryptocurrencies.
Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s chief legal officer, expressed confidence that the company will win this new phase of the case. In his remarks, he explained that the appeal will be based on the existing record, meaning that the SEC will not be able to present new evidence or demand more documentation.
The original source of this information was shared by Alderoty via his official account on the X platform (formerly Twitter), highlighting that clarity on XRP is already “the law of the land”, and that Ripple has a strong track record in its favor in this appeal.
The SEC-Ripple showdown has been long and twisty. In 2023, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that while XRP is not a security when sold to retail consumers, institutional sales of the asset did violate U.S. securities laws.
Ripple is appealing this last part of the ruling, seeking to overturn the decision that could have a significant impact on how cryptocurrencies are regulated in the future.
Despite the challenge of this appeal, Alderoty made it clear that Ripple has not stopped. According to him, the company continues to grow and strengthen its business, even as this legal process continues.
Ripple strategy and the future of the case
In his recent statement, Alderoty stressed that the SEC’s strategy has been to create distraction and confusion, not only for Ripple, but for the entire cryptocurrency industry.
For Ripple, however, this noise is now a thing of the past.
The executive is confident that the most difficult part of the case is behind him, and that the company can now focus on what lies ahead: winning the appeal and continuing to develop its business without further obstacles.
On the other hand, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, was also optimistic about the outcome of the appeal, noting that a victory for Ripple could represent a major setback for the SEC’s regulatory ambitions in the cryptocurrency sector.
Garlinghouse also stressed that Ripple continues to operate within the law and is confident that its approach puts them “on the right side of history.”
Meanwhile, the SEC has also filed its own Form C, seeking to reverse other aspects of the 2023 ruling, particularly programmatic sales of XRP on cryptocurrency platforms.
However, they are not appealing the $125 million fine imposed on Ripple or the judge’s decision not to demand disgorgement. This makes it clear that, although the standoff continues, Ripple is moving forward with optimism in what it considers a nearly overturned legal battle.
